Failing Quote by George Eliot
“There is no sorrow I have thought more about than that-to love what is great, and try to reach it, and yet to fail.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch, 1871
The speaker laments that loving something noble and striving toward it, yet failing, brings deep sorrow, emphasizing the pain of unfulfilled aspirations.
In simple terms: Failing at great goals causes deep sadness.
Key Takeaway
Accept failure as part of growth.
Themes
sorrow
ambition
failure
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- career goals
- artistic pursuits
- personal dreams
- academic research
Key Concepts
existential longing
human striving
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this sorrow teach you about your values?
- How can failure be reframed as progress?
A Different Perspective
It may ignore the value of learning from failure and the possibility of future success.
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
